


Me or Tennis (Choutarou Ootori)

by TheRainRogue



Category: Tennis no Oujisama | Prince of Tennis
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-28
Updated: 2020-05-28
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:20:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,262
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24419539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheRainRogue/pseuds/TheRainRogue
Summary: You watched the young Ootori and his girlfriend with disdain. You didn’t want to sound jealous or like a psycho fan or anything like that, but you knew that Anju was not good enough for the younger boy. She was selfish, greedy, and loved to be adored by everyone – mostly boys. She was always flirting with other guys behind Choutarou’s back. She’s even hit on the other members of the team. You couldn’t lie and say she was ugly, though, because that just wasn’t the case.
Kudos: 2
Collections: Anime, One Shots





	Me or Tennis (Choutarou Ootori)

  * **Genre** : Angst, Fluff, Friendship ☁
  * **Word Count** : 2,245 ☁
  * **Pairing** : None ☁
  * **World** : Anime, Prince of Tennis ☁



* * *

You watched the young Ootori and his girlfriend with disdain. You didn’t want to sound jealous or like a psycho fan or anything like that, but you knew that Anju was not good enough for the younger boy. She was selfish, greedy, and loved to be adored by everyone – mostly boys. She was always flirting with other guys behind Choutarou’s back. She’s even hit on the other members of the team. You couldn’t lie and say she was ugly, though, because that just wasn’t the case.

Anju Satori was a beautiful ninth-grader. Her hair shimmered a dark red and her eyes were the color of chocolates. Her skin was tan and she had no imperfections that you could see with the naked eye. She was known as one of the most beautiful girls in Hyotei Gakuen and everyone knew who she was. She was the head cheerleader for their American Football team and vice-president of her class. To add to that, she had a pedigree. She was a full-blood rich bitch, descending from a line so rich, there hasn’t been a single person in her entire family that ever owned less than a hundred thousand dollars at a time. If only her attitude could match her beauty, she’d be one hell of a package.

Her attitude was horrible, though. She was stuck up and snobby, believing that everyone – Atobe included – was beneath her. She truly believed that she was better than everyone else, in every possible way. She expected people to bow and bend to her every command. And why wouldn’t she expect that, when everyone had been doing just that since the day she was born? No one had ever turned down Princess Anju. To put things bluntly, she was a hundred times worse than the king of Hyotei.

Anju always got what she wanted, which is why she was now hanging off of Choutarou’s arm, a manicured hand pressed to her mouth as she laughed at something Shishido had said – which, according to his expression, was not meant to be funny. The whole of the Hyotei tennis team thought that she was a good match for Choutarou, that they were perfect, that _she_ was perfect.

But Shishido wouldn’t be fooled, and neither would you. Both of you could see through Anju as if she were a piece of glass. You knew she was using Choutarou, and cheating on him behind his back. What could you do, though? What could you say?

Shishido was Choutarou’s best friend. He had the obligation to inform him of his cheating girlfriend, but he had no proof and didn’t want his best friend to hate him. Ryo was torn.

You, on the other hand, had no problem acting on your feelings. You were blunt and didn’t think twice about who you cut with your words, but you did have your own sense of honor. You were neither Choutarou’s friend nor teammate. Hell, you didn’t even go to the same school. You had no right to interfere in his love life and if you did, you’d simply sound like a jealous fangirl.

No, you wouldn’t get involved.

At least, you wouldn’t until you were brought into it by the very same boy you had grown so attached to.

* * *

Choutarou wiped the sweat from his forehead as he headed toward the showers. He paused when he saw his girlfriend leaning against the wall of the building, a sour look on her porcelain face. He smiled as he approached, but it fell when she narrowed her chocolate eyes at him.

“You were supposed to meet me twenty minutes ago,” her voice was controlled. It was unladylike to lose her temper in public, as her mother had repeated for many years.

“I-I’m sorry, Anju-chan.” he bowed his head, his brown eyes on the grass beneath him. “Shishido-san and I were in the middle of a match. It lasted a lot longer than I thoug – ”

“I don’t care,” she snapped, her red hair bouncing with the movement of her head. “I don’t care about your match. I don’t care about your friend. And I certainly do not care about tennis.”

“But – ”

“No! I am supposed to come first on your list, Choutarou! **Me**! I come before anything else, especially some foolish _sport_.” she wrinkled her nose in disgust. “You need to get your priorities straight!”

 _‘It’s not a foolish sport!’_ , he wanted to say, but he knew better. Anju was not a person to argue with.

“Now listen here, Ootori Choutarou,” she continued, pushing away from the wall and standing tall in front of him. Of course, being as tall as he was, she just reached his chest, but that didn’t matter. Her brown eyes bore into his own with a fierceness he didn’t know a young girl could possess. “You have a choice to make. _Me or tennis_.”

His eyes widened, the towel slipping from his grasp and falling to the ground without a sound. How could she possibly ask him such a thing? He couldn’t give up tennis, not after everything he had gone through. He loved tennis, he loved playing doubles with Shishido more than anything in the world, but… he cared deeply about Anju.

“I’ll be waiting for your decision.” she snarled in his ear before brushing past him, knocking his shoulder roughly with her own.

Choutarou didn’t get his bag. He didn’t change and he didn’t shower. He ran. He ran as fast as his long legs would take him. The park was where he ended up, situated between his own school and Seishun Gakuen. They were a ways away from one another, but the park was the middle ground.

He was thankful that the park was nearly empty. He was thankful to get a bench to himself under the shade of a towering tree. He was thankful that he hadn’t started to cry. Anju’s words were swirling around in his mind. He felt dizzy like the world was spinning out of control around him. His heart was beating painfully in his chest and his head felt like it was splitting in two.

Tennis was just a hobby, something he did because he loved it.

Anju Satori was for forever… right?

“You look out of it,”

He gasped in surprise, his head snapping around to the person that had spoken. He didn’t know you personally, all he knew was that you attended Rikkaidai and happened to be the cousin of one of the students at Seigaku. He didn’t know your name and had never actually spoken to you before, but you were hard to forget.

You were a complete and total tomboy and a badass to boot. You disobeyed rules, believing they were meant to be broken. You rarely spoke with respect and often resorted to cussing to highlight your words. You were different from any girl he had ever run into before, but he could tell that you weren’t a bad person. Just.. misunderstood in a lot of ways.

You moved forward, sitting down on his right and staring up at the baby blue sky, which was slowly changing to a pale shade of orange, like sherbert. You placed your right ankle on your knee and glanced at him. “Got something on your mind, kid?”

Choutarou returned his gaze to the ground, his fingers playing nervously with the hem of his tennis shirt. Could he confide in you? Could he plague you with his problems? “Y-Yes,”

“Well? What is it?” you turned to him, folding your arms over your chest. Your face was still blank, but your eyes were kind and inviting.

“M-My girlfriend isn’t happy with me at the moment,”

“Oh? And why is that?”

“Well, I…” he played with his fingers, swallowing hard. “I left her waiting for me. I promised I’d meet her, but practice went on a little longer than I expected…”

“She got mad at you for that?” you scoffed in disbelief.

“Yes,”

“Well, that’s stupid. Not like you could help it,”

He shrugged. “Maybe. I mean, I could have at least called her…”

“The hell you gonna call someone in the middle of a match?”

“I… I don’t know…”

“Che. And?”

He chewed on his lip. If he said it out loud, would he break down? Would he break down in front of this person whom he had never even spoken to before? Would you laugh at him and call him a wimp? A child? You were older than him, after all.

You watched him carefully, taking in all of the little habits he was performing, from the twiddling of his fingers to the look in his eyes, and the way he chewed on his bottom lip like it was a piece of meat. Just what had that girl done to him?

“She said I had to get my priorities straight,” he said finally, letting out a breath he hadn’t known he was holding. “She said I had to choose…”

“Between?”

“Her… or tennis,”

Your eyes widened in surprise before narrowing in anger. You fought back the growl that threatened to erupt from your throat. How could she make such a sweet, innocent boy make such a decision? He was still a kid, he shouldn’t have to make a decision like that! “Fucking bitch,” you muttered under your breath.

Choutarou either didn’t hear you or paid it no mind. “I… I don’t know what to do. I’ve put so much into my tennis, me and Shishido-san both! But… I really love Anju-chan…”

“Love?” you repeated before letting out a bark of laughter. “What the hell do you know about love, kid?” He pouted, turning to look at you. You grinned. “Trust me, you don’t love her.”

“What do you mean?” he blinked.

“Call it a sixth sense,” you paused. “Is she your first?”

“First?”

“Girlfriend,”

“Oh. Yes.”

“Exactly. You’re not in love, Choutarou. It’s just that puppy-love that people experience when they start dating someone for the first time. You’re still just a kid, inexperienced and innocent. Trust me on this.”

Rather than feeling insulted, it felt as if your words made sense. “What should I do?”

“You can’t ask me that.”

“Huh?” he blinked.

“I can’t tell you what to do. Only _you_ can decide that, but I _can_ give you advice,” you stood up, moving to stand in front of him, dark eyes piercing his own. He felt uncomfortable under your piercing stare, but he didn’t dare look away. “If she truly cared about you, she wouldn’t make you choose. Good luck, Choutarou.”

Before you could walk away, Choutarou jumped up. “Wait! You know my name.. can I know yours?”

You glanced over your shoulder. “Y/N,”

He watched you until he couldn’t see you anymore and then plopped back down onto the bench with his senpai’s words running through his mind. It took him a while, but his mind was made up. “Yosh!” he stood up, determination burning through his normally soft brown orbs.

* * *

Anju was standing by the tennis courts, awaiting her boyfriend. She bore a smug look on her face, as if she knew what he had chosen. Her smirk grew when he approached her, but it slowly slipped away when she saw him dressed in his tennis uniform.

“Choutarou,”

“Anju-senpai,”

Her eye nearly twitched. He had dropped the _‘-chan’_ from her name. “Well? Have you come to a decision?”

“I have,” his grip on his tennis bag increased as he remembered what you had said to him the night before. He stared into her eyes, feeling a new wave of confidence hit him. “I choose tennis.”

“What?” she shrieked in disbelief, earning the attention of the regulars and their fans. Everyone turned to the pair, but she didn’t notice. She was too angry. “Are you breaking up with me?”

“Yes,”

“You!” she growled, eyes narrowed and fists clenched. “You don’t deserve to be with someone as incredible as me! I’m too good for you!”

“Actually, I think you have that backward.”

Everyone’s attention turned to you as you entered the scene. You stood nearby, face blank as you stared at the younger girl.

“What?” Anju hissed, turning her flashing brown eyes onto the intruder.

“Hard of hearing? Or just stupid?” you nearly grinned at the shriek the princess released. “You claim that Choutarou doesn’t deserve you, but it’s _you_ who doesn’t deserve _him_. Choutarou is too good for you, and deserves a hell of a lot better.”

“How dare you!”

“Che. You have no right to make Choutarou choose between you and something he’s set his heart into. That right there is a red flag.”

“What?” Shishido looked between you and the so-called princess. “What’s she talking about?”

“You didn’t know?” you raised a brow, glancing at the brunette. “She gave Choutarou a choice. Her or tennis.”

“What?” Shishido growled, narrowing his dark brown eyes at the red-head.

“Anyway, we all know you aren’t good enough. Choutarou realizes that now, too. So, Shishido,” he looked up at you, anger flashing through his eyes. “Don’t you have something to say to Hyotei’s little princess?”

“Yeah,” Shishido smirked, approaching the red-head before chewing her out. No one had ever seen Shishido that angry before, not even Choutarou, but he was happy because Shishido was doing it for _him_ , because of him. He caught your gaze and sent you a warm smile.

You smiled back, nodding in approval before turning and leaving the scene.

_‘Thank you so much… Y/N-senpai’,_

* * *


End file.
